The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent the work is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Typically, if an advertiser wanted to display content on one or more signage devices, one option would be to contact the owner of each device, negotiate a price for displaying the content on the signage device, and coordinate remittance of payment to the owner of the device. This could involve setting up an escrow account with the owner of the signage device, collecting bank information from the owner of the signage device and coordinating a wire transfer or credit card payment with the owner's bank, paying through a third-party service such as PAYPAL, or other such payment options. Further, the cost associated with displaying certain advertising campaigns may exceed the credit limits on typical credit cards, thus necessitating the need to deal directly with banks or other financial institutions to confirm the availability of funds and other related information.
Additionally, the advertiser had to coordinate delivery or the advertisement to the signage device or signage devices, which could entail physically delivering the content to a network administrator who would then upload the content to each of the signage devices individually. For example, an advertiser could mail a USB mass storage device (i.e., “thumb drive”) to the network administer who would then upload the content at each signage device, where it could then be displayed. As will be understood and appreciated, such a process is both time consuming and difficult to manage as someone must walk from signage device to signage device while keeping track of each upload.
Therefore, there is a long-felt but unresolved need for a system that allows advertisers to upload media content and choose signage devices upon which to display the content and timeslots at which the content should be displayed. Further, there is a need for a centralized system that allows advertisers and their customers to remit payment for the display of the media content to the owners of the signage devices. Additionally, there is a need for a system in which confirmation of payment remittance triggers the release of the media content to the signage devices or triggers the display of the content on the signage devices.